Just for fun. Today was too nice outside not to go for a ride, not errands, just a ride for the sake of riding. A recent saddle acquisition motivates me to take out the Eisentraut. What a fun riding bike. The tire clearance is the only limitation that bike imposes, the rest is up to the motor. I have a set of vintage NOS Specialized Touring tires on it at the moment, labeled 32mm, but measure at 23mm. Not sure if it is the overstated tire size trend of the era, or dyslexia. For super skinny tires they ride pretty well.
I was out for a few hours, and about 30 miles before the wind came up too bad. I shot more video than pictures on this ride. Something else I will be teaching myself as part of the Ocean Air Cycles project. Some of it actually came out OK. I learned that video takes a different level of planning than pictures. Lots of scouting and thinking about timing and angles of view, and how to get it done solo. Next up is post production, I will see what is usable and hopefully have a short movie by next week.
It has been way to nice outside to pass on riding. Try as hard as I may, by the mid afternoon the clear blue skies pull me away from the computer and telephone. With temperatures pushing into the low 80's in the inland valleys I broke away for a ride back up the river valley.
A total of 26 miles crammed into an hour and a half, not bad after a couple of months with little more than short errand rides. Even at that average pace I was still able to grab some pictures and enjoy the weather. Near Lake Casitas there was a herd of deer out grazing, in a mile or so I counted close to 20.
All those little dots in the field are deer, really, even a four point buck in the mix.
I since my dad does read this, I will admit I need a hair cut, pretty badly. I keep telling my self it is winter and it keeps my head warm, but this winter has been hotter and drier than last summer. I am sure Murphy's law will kick in as soon as I cut it, but I guess I have hats for that.
Two Wet Nuts August 11 2011, 0 Comments
And this has nothing to do with my choice of cotton shorts and boxers(capilene). Yesterday's ride was wet, the fog was late in coming this year and has been relentless in moving on. The mist was so thick in the morning that there was puddles most of the way out to Lake Casitas, and the trees were dripping with dew.
Wishing I still had fenders on the Roadeo I made my way out towards the lake to see if I could find some free snacks to take home. The weather out here has been unusually damp all year, and cool, hot for a bit and then cool again. As a result the rivers are still running with water in the summer.
Usually by this time of year they are barely a trickle of a creek left. Likewise the fruit and nuts have been all off schedule, plumping up early during the heat, but not turning ripe now that it is cool and damp again. First stop was the walnut tree, relentless branch shaking did little more than draw a crowd of onlookers wondering what the crazy human was up too.
From there is was just a little further to check on the progress the pomegranates have been making.
Like the walnuts, the trees are loaded with fruit, but none of it near ready to enjoy. I am looking forward to the day it all comes ripe at once. The transition from spring to summer this year has been a mixed bag on our stretch of coast this year, even the wild flowers are a bit mixed up, some still blooming while the rest of the fields have long gone to their summer tan.
While not high yielding in wild foods, the ride was a great chance to get out of the house for a bit, and not think about the things I "should" be getting done, and yes all that tree shaking resulted in just two wet nuts ;-)
I had some coverage for the baby today and was able to get out fo ra couple of hours, thank you Opie. I headed up to Casitas for a while before doubling back to head to the farmer's market. It was really nice to get out of the morning fog and into some clear skies.
While out in the hills a bit I saw a deer with actual antlers, not usual around here. I only seem to see one every few years or so, plenty of does, but not really any bucks with head gear.
and then it was back into town where the fog was flirting with the coastline all day. A successful ride, fresh veggies and spin the legs.
You can just make out the fog bank in the distance.
June Gloom? July 11 2011, 0 Comments
The summer time fog rolled in late this year and is hanging around a while
It makes the light flat and the pictures challenging and quite undramatic. On the plus side it holds in the heat and makes for warm morning rides.
The weather is already turning warmer and green is giving way to tan in some spots. The mornings are still chilly, but the lunch breaks are all shorts and t-shirts
The Roadeo for repair is close enough to perfect to grab these shots.
And there was even a little country road excitement. I missed the first part of the show, but watching them turning it over with the propane tank dangling was enough, I did not stick around.
Great day to be out and spin the legs to get some fresh air.
Another round or rain and possibly hail is scheduled for the next few days. I headed out towards Lake Casitas hoping to get some shots of the snow on the mountains bofre the clouds set in.
The cloud line was already too low, blocking the snow that I had seen from town earlier in the morning. The rivers were all running high, with more rain on the way things could get interesting.
I had wanted to make it to the high point on the west side of the lake, but wind and time were conspiring against me. Still an incredibly beautiful day to get out for a ride.
Dusted off the DSLR with 50mm lens for a ride on the Traut today. I thought it may be time to leave the fisheye at home for a week and focus on some different skills. Today brought clear skies with snow in the mountains, temps in the 50s, it doesn't get much nicer than this.
Spring wildflowers starting to pop.
Spotted a hawk with a fish for lunch.
This morning was much colder than expected, with temps in the upper 30's and rain on the way, it looks like Old Man Winter may be on his way back to California. I headed out the Ventura River trail to Lake Casitas, up the 150 to Burnham and back home for a quick 26.5 miles and 1000 ft or so of climbing.
Fun rolling hills with flowers starting to show,
A little bit of climbing,
And the reward.
What a difference a day or two can make in the weather. Looking like rain again in a day or two more, enjoy it while it lasts.
Yesterday morning's schedule left me with the opportunity to do what I wanted for five hours or more. I decided it was time to put on some decent miles and headed out on what turned out to be a perfect day for one of my favorite loops.
This ride takes you through some beautiful views of the farms, canyons, lakes and with no fog today the channel islands were spectacular. The route heads east out of Ventura out to Santa Paula, up the Hwy 150 through Ojai and back down to the coast at Rincon. From there it back along the coast to home.
The ride is just over 100km (70 miles) and 4250 feet of climbing. I was able to get it done in five hours and ten minutes, pretty respectable considering it has been months since I did anything over 20 miles. The weather was spectacular, warmer than I expected, no clouds and there was only strong winds on the leg out to Santa Paula. Spring has definitely sprung, the flowers: lupine, mustard, poppy and all the others, are starting to pop.
This is a popular route with the local cyclists and clubs. Today I seemed to be the only one going counter-clockwise as I crossed paths with plenty of other's going the other way. Clockwise lets you slowly work your way up to the Summit and 10 miles down to Santa Paula, I would rather slog up the climb so I can enjoy the twisty drop from upper to lower Ojai.
After the twisty drop it is small towns and rollers to the coast, with a couple of steep pitches through Casitas Pass and then down through the valley to the beach. Everything went better than you could hope for. No mechanical issues, great weather and plenty of time made for a perfect ride. The Roadeo with Jack Browns made me wonder if I will ever ride a skinny tire again.
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I was out for a few hours, and about 30 miles before the wind came up too bad. I shot more video than pictures on this ride. Something else I will be teaching myself as part of the Ocean Air Cycles project. Some of it actually came out OK. I learned that video takes a different level of planning than pictures. Lots of scouting and thinking about timing and angles of view, and how to get it done solo. Next up is post production, I will see what is usable and hopefully have a short movie by next week.
